Molded rubberized toddler primer ball glove

ABSTRACT

An easy to use ball-catching glove is used by toddlers as their first glove. It is padded by the thickness and characteristic shock-absorbing quality of Plastisol, gum rubber, silicone rubber material, soft plastic material, any of a variety of materials or combinations of materials having a hardness value in a range of 10 to 90 on a Shore 00 hardness scale, or any rubber-like material or other material from which it is molded as one piece. The glove is highly malleable and resilient, with living hinges that assist in the ease of opening and closing the glove. The exterior surface of the glove is a high friction surface to assist the ball staying on the glove until the fingers and thumb can be wrapped around it. The glove is brightly colored and toy-like in shape.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to ball gloves and in particular to a ballcatching primer glove for use as a toddler's first ball glove, theprimer glove being completely molded from Plastisol, gum rubber,silicone rubber material, soft plastic material, any of a variety ofmaterials or combinations of materials having a hardness value in arange of 10 to 90 on a Shore 00 hardness scale, or any rubber-likematerial or other material that is brightly colored and molded into atoy-like glove configuration into a thick self-padded glove, body andfingers and thumb and web having a thickness and characteristic softshock absorbing quality of the material so that it protects a hand ofthe toddler in the glove, the glove being highly malleable and havingliving hinges between the palm portion and the fingers and thumbportions so that the glove is easy to open and close in catching a ball,just for the toddler to get used to catching a ball in a glove easilywithout any harm to the toddler, a glove which has a toy-like fun andplayful structure which could be made in bright colors to provide afriendly, fun, safe introduction to catching a ball in a glove fortoddlers.

2. Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37CFR 1.97 and 1.98

While there are baseball gloves that are partially molded of plastic andrubber, all of the prior art gloves involve extra parts, such as fabricmolded into the rubber molding or glove inserts or webbing or stitchingor gluing together front and back portions or exterior hand retainers orinterior padding. Most of the prior art attempts to simulate the actualstructure and function of traditional leather baseball gloves and areintended for use in the practice and play of baseball. Some of thelearning assists in the prior gloves are intended to be removed leavinga regulation baseball glove for playing the game.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,681 issued Jul. 21, 1981 to Klimezky, provides anintegrally molded plastic baseball glove utilizable in the game ofbaseball as a catching device for protecting the hand. The final moldedarticle has the aesthetic appearance of a leather baseball glove. Themethod of making includes first molding a hollow plastic shell whichforms exterior convex front and back surfaces of the baseball glove, theshell front and back surface having exterior, shaped-segments includingpatterned depressions and protuberances which form outlines delineatingthe fingers and thumb areas of the glove, a pair of webs between thethumb and index finger areas, an additional surface including cut outlines and lacing to make it look like a leather glove. The shell may bemolded utilizing slush, rotation or blow-injection techniques. The moldface itself that forms the front glove shell exterior surface is not anexact replica of the final glove form but is distorted in surfaceconfiguration such that the front exterior surface when molded is convexoverall. When the glove is finally constructed, the front exteriorsurface is substantially concave, with convex tubular finger and thumbareas. After removal of the shell from the mold, the convex front glovesurface is forced inwardly so that the front and back shell areasdelineating the fingers and thumb can be joined together. A suitablepadding may be inserted (or molded) in the inside palm area of theglove. The webbing is trimmed and perforated and cut outs made whererequired. A pocket for receiving the ball when inverted from its convexmolded shape will be formed from cold setting of the plastic afterremoval from the mold.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,113, issued Jul. 2, 2002 to Guenther et al, is for aball glove including an outer shell which is formed from textile orfabric reinforced compression molded rubber. The rubber extends intomesh openings in the textile and is mechanically integrated with thetextile. The textile strengthens the rubber and reduces the possibilitythat the rubber will tear at holes for stitches or laces.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,519, issued Jan. 13, 1998 to Cooper, claims awaterproof sports glove comprising a pair of superposed flexible piecesof substantially water-impervious material connected and sealed togetheralong the marginal edge portions thereof to define a glove body havingan open lower section configured to receive therethrough the hand of auser during use of the glove. The glove body is provided with two fingersections separated from one another by a cut-out portion, and each ofthe finger sections comprises at least one finger compartment forreceiving therein at least one finger of the user's hand. A web of asubstantially water-impervious material is disposed within the cut-outportion and interconnects the two finger sections.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,376, issued Jan. 30, 19990 to Miner, describes asport glove construction and a method of using it, including fasteningtogether sheets of plastic material by rigid fastening device into acup-shaped pocket configuration, forming a front ball receiving side anda rear hand receiving side having a cup-shaped pocket therein. A handsecuring device is connected to the outer surface of the back side ofthe glove construction for proper ventilation purposes. A web deviceinterconnects right and left portions of the front and rear sheets, tohelp define the pocket. Right and left elongated, resilient pads extendin a generally U-shaped configuration at the rim of the pocket,diverging away from one another at the lower portion of the sheetstoward the web device. A plurality of pocket rigid fastening devices arearranged in a spaced apart manner within the pocket adjacent to the padsand secure together the front and rear sheets for helping rigidifyflexibly the resulting glove construction.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,537, issued Apr. 4, 1995 to Kolada, depicts abaseball or softball glove comprising a shell having a concave, frontal,ball-receiving surface and a rear surface to which a handpiece isattached. The handpiece may be removably or permanently attached and maycomprise finger receiving loops formed on the rear surface of the shell.The handpiece is preferably a tight fitting, leather or fabric glove.The preferred shell comprises a sheet-like, flexible skin of a selectedflexibility attached to a structural skeleton having a lower flexibilitythan the skin. A plurality of raised bumps are formed on theball-receiving surface of the shell near a palm region and around theouter perimeter. Elongated slots are formed through the shell, extendinggenerally parallel to and between finger regions, and in a web region.Preferred lines of flexure are formed at at least one end of each slot,and are localized, thinned regions, along which the shell preferablyflexes.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,776, issued Sep. 12, 1995 to Caruso, indicates alightweight, tear resistant sporting mitt for use on or adjacent tobeaches and water. The mitt is water repellant and is unaffected bysand, while having sufficient structural strength to withstand heavy usewith hard balls such as artificial baseballs. The mitt is formed fromsubstantially congruent alternating planar layers of abuse resistantplastic coated canvas and resilient compressible porous or foam material(two outer layers of canvas, two layers of resilient compressible porousand a central canvas layer. The layers are peripherally sewn to eachother, with an opening remaining, at the base of the mitt for handinsertion between resilient compressible porous layers. A hinge line fora ball catching pocket extends from the hand insertion opening to awebbing enclosed cut out section. A canvas webbing segment having ashape and size similar to the cut-out section is positioned in thecut-out area and is peripherally sewn to the edges of the cut-outsection, while lateral segments of the mitt are hinged, towards eachother, whereby a ball catching pocket is formed.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,245, issued Oct. 21, 1997 to Rector et al, specifiesa baseball glove having a laminate foam rubber padding with low reboundand energy damping properties, is constructed and arranged to providestiffness in the longitudinal axial direction of the thumb andforefinger portion of the glove and the little finger portion of theglove but a flexibility in a transverse axial direction across the palmof the hand in a direction toward the little finger portion of theglove, to thereby preclude the “breaking-in” period customarily requiredfor a new glove. The glove laces are made of hollow plastic tubinghaving elastic memory. The tubular end portions of the lacings aresecured to the leather covering by fasteners having planar surfacescarrying advertising indicia.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,300,787, issued Jan. 31, 1967 to Benkert, shows abaseball glove which affords increased protection to the fingers andreduces the danger of injury by the impact of a baseball that is beingcaught by providing substantial padding.

What is needed is a ball catching primer glove for toddlers intended asa first ball glove, which is completely molded from a rubber-likematerial which is self-padded by the thickness and characteristic softshock absorbing quality of the material for use as a primer glove fortoddlers just to get used to catching a ball in a glove without any harmto the toddler, a glove which has a toy-like fun and playful structurewhich could be made in bright colors to provide a friendly, fun, safeintroduction to catching a ball in a glove for toddlers.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a ball catching primerglove for toddlers intended as a first ball glove, which is completelymolded from Plastisol, gum rubber, silicone rubber material, softplastic material, any of a variety of materials or combinations ofmaterials having a hardness value in a range of 10 to 90 on a Shore 00hardness scale, or any rubber-like material or other material that isbrightly colored and molded into a toy-like glove configuration so thatthe glove is self-padded by the thickness and characteristic soft shockabsorbing quality of the material for use as a primer glove fortoddlers, the glove being highly malleable so that it is easy to openand close in catching a ball, just for the toddler to get used tocatching a ball in a glove easily without any harm to the toddler, aglove which has a toy-like fun and playful structure which could be madein bright colors to provide a friendly, fun, safe introduction tocatching a ball in a glove for toddlers.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a living hinge(recessed easy to bend line of reduced material forming a valley)between the palm portion and each of the fingers and the thumb to makeit easy for the toddler's fingers to bend the fingers and thumb of theglove to catch the ball.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ball catchingglove which is completely waterproof and sturdy yet soft and protectiveof the toddler's hand in the glove.

In brief, the present invention provides a ball catching primer glovefor use as a toddler's first ball glove, the primer glove beingcompletely molded from Plastisol, gum rubber, silicone rubber material,soft plastic material, any of a variety of materials or combinations ofmaterials having a hardness value in a range of 10 to 90 on a Shore 00hardness scale, or any rubber-like material or other material that isbrightly colored and molded into a toy-like glove configuration into athick self-padded glove body and fingers and thumb and web having athickness and characteristic soft shock absorbing quality of thematerial so that it protects a hand of the toddler in the glove. Theglove is highly malleable and resilient and has living hinges betweenthe palm portion and the fingers and thumb portions so that the glove iseasy to open and close in catching a ball. The primer glove isstructured just for the toddler to get used to catching a ball in aglove easily without any harm to the toddler. The primer glove has atoy-like fun and playful structure which could be made in bright colorsto provide a friendly, fun, safe introduction to catching a ball in aglove for toddlers.

An advantage of the present invention is that it provides ahand-protecting first primer ball catching glove for toddlers.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a moldedglove that is easy to fabricate.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it provides aneasy to open and easy to close malleability by using living hinges.

An added advantage of the present invention is that it provides a softrubberized glove which may be made in many different colors like a toy.

One more advantage of the present invention is that it provides awaterproof and weather-proof ball glove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other details of the present invention will be described inconnection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only byway of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in whichdrawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the primer ball glove of the presentinvention showing the palm, finger, thumb, and web portions of theglove;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken from a center of the hand openingthrough a mid-portion of the palm and through a finger, showing thegreater thickness of the molded rubberized material and smaller heightof the interior space for the hand of a toddler.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a ball catching toddler primer glove 10 for use as atoddler's first primer ball glove comprises palm 11, finger 12, thumb14, and web 13 portions all molded together.

The glove 10 is completely molded from a rubberized shock absorbingmaterial forming a glove 10 which is self-padded by the thickness andcharacteristic soft shock absorbing quality of the material used. Theglove 10 is malleable so that it is easy to open and close when catchinga ball. Recessed crevices of material between the fingers 12 and palm11, as well as the thumb 14 and palm 11, form living hinges 18 tofurther increase the ease of opening and closing the glove 10. A web 13between the thumb 14 and fingers 12, also adds to the ease of closingthe glove around the ball. The glove 10 has a high-friction exteriorsurface for ease of catching and holding onto a ball and rounded puffyfinger 12 and thumb 14 portions, enabling a toddler to have a firstexperience in catching a ball in the glove 10 easily, without any harmto the hand of the toddler. The palm portion 11 is indented andsurrounded with rounded puffy edges. The glove 10 has a toy-like, fun,and playful structure formed into thickly padded surfaces surrounding asmall interior opening 15 for admitting and protecting a hand of thetoddler. The opening 15 extends into the interior of the glove with anarea for the hand 16, including openings for the fingers 17 of thetoddler, as shown in FIG. 2. The ball catching primer glove 10 isintended for use as a toddler's first primer ball glove.

The primer glove 10 can be molded from, but is not limited to, aPlastisol, a gum rubber material, a silicone rubber material, a softplastic material, any of a variety of materials or combinations ofmaterials having a hardness value in a range of 10 to 90 on a Shore 00hardness scale, or any rubber-like material or other material that isbrightly colored and molded into a toy-like glove configuration.

In use, the brightly colored, toy-like primer glove serves as atoddler's first introduction to catching a ball with a glove. Thetoddler places his/her hand into the opening of the molded glove untilhis/her fingers and thumb are inserted into the finger and thumb portionof the glove. He/she catches a tossed ball when it is ‘grabbed’ by thehigh-friction exterior surface of the glove and then closes his/herfingers and thumb easily around the ball by engaging the living hinges.The soft, shock-absorbing surface of the glove provides protection fromthe sting a tossed ball could potentially have.

It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by wayof illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that variousmodifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A ball catching toddler primer glove for use as atoddler's first ball glove, the primer glove comprising: a primer ballglove for a toddler, the glove completely molded from a rubberized shockabsorbing material into a glove which is self-padded by the thicknessand characteristic soft shock absorbing quality of the material for useas a primer glove for toddlers, the glove being malleable so that it iseasy to open and close in catching a ball with recessed crevices ofmaterial between the fingers and thumbs forming living hinges, the glovehaving a high friction exterior surface for ease of catching and holdingonto a ball, to enable a toddler to have a first experience in catchinga ball in the glove easily without any harm to the hand of the toddler,the glove having rounded puffy finger and thumb portions and an indentedpalm portion with surrounding rounded puffy edges in a toy-like fun andplayful structure formed into thickly padded surfaces surrounding asmall interior opening for admitting and protecting a hand of thetoddler thereby providing a ball catching toddler primer glove for useas a toddler's first ball glove.
 2. The primer glove of claim 1 whereinthe glove is molded from a Plastisol material.
 3. The primer glove ofclaim 1 wherein the glove is molded from a gum rubber material.
 4. Theprimer glove of claim 1 wherein the glove is molded from a siliconerubber material.
 5. The primer glove of claim 1 wherein the glove ismolded from a soft plastic material.
 6. The primer glove of claim 1wherein the glove is molded from any of a variety of materials having ahardness value in a range of 10 to 90 on a Shore 00 hardness scale. 7.The primer glove of claim 1 wherein the glove is molded from any of avariety of combinations of materials having a hardness value in a rangeof 10 to 90 on a Shore 00 hardness scale.
 8. The primer glove of claim 1wherein the glove is molded from a rubber-like brightly coloredmaterial.
 9. The primer glove of claim 1 wherein the glove is moldedfrom any of a variety of brightly colored materials.
 10. The primerglove of claim 1 wherein the glove is molded from any of a variety ofcombinations of brightly colored materials.
 11. The primer glove ofclaim 1 wherein the glove is molded into a toy-like glove configuration.